Anniversary Here!

Today is the first anniversary of completion of my house.  One year ago, on March 29, 2011, Dave and Kyle spent much of the day detailing the project and packing up their gear.  They finished installing coat hooks in the front entry and upstairs guest bedroom.  They checked out the hardware on the service door when I thought it seemed loose.  Dave cleaned up debris in the basement.  In a state of some anxiety, Kyle toured the structure with the Building Inspector, who wandered here and there, and sometimes stopped at a window to spent several minutes gazing out at the landscape.  Kyle hoped the Inspector wouldn't find anything to fix, and his prayers were answered.  Finally, the guys packed their vehicles, posed for a final "Happy Builders" photo, and headed back to Grand Haven.

After occupying the house for nearly a year (I moved in a couple weeks later) I now have some experience living day-to-day with the fruit of their labors.  The house they built was very nearly the house my architect Bob and I envisioned during the design phase.  The quality of Kyle's and Dave's work was superb, as I notice every time I walk up those rock-solid stairs or go looking for a book in my nine bookcases!  Indeed, there is hardly a detail in the house which displeases me and makes me say, "I wish I hadn't done that" — or more especially, "I which they hadn't done that."  As Kyle liked to say, "It's a thing of beauty!"  It most definitely is.

I am most grateful, too, that I had such a positive relationship with my builders.  From the tales I hear, that is not always the way things fall out.  A couple of the subcontractors were disappointing, but Dave and Kyle were unfailingly pleasant to deal with, responsible, professional, and each was (and is) a skilled craftsman.  I could not have wished for better.  They were a great blessing.  

A few projects remain on my to-do list.  The ground floor and stairwell need a second coat of paint.  The kitchen and bathrooms need backsplashes.  The back porch has to be screened.  But all that in due course.  On this anniversary day, without reservation I can declare myself a happy homeowner! •••